Positivitea Cup Ten: Improving Your Mood

Despite how fervently I try to avoid the unavoidable, it's impossible to not suffer from a shift in mood. There's just no way to be in a good mood all of the time without faltering at some point. Try as I might to stay in a good mood at all times, it's just not going to happen. Whether it's exhaustion from working too much, stress weighing me down, or my introverted behavior striking back for overspecialization (I like to think of myself as an electronic device. I have no issues being out and about with people, but my socialization battery gets drained and I need an hour or so to "recharge" before doing anything else). Maybe I had a bad day at work, maybe I saw something that upset me. Who knows what the situation is. Sometimes even the smallest of things can throw us into a funk, no matter how much we want to fight our way out of it. For me, there are a few ways that can almost always, with little failure, drag me out of my mood.

1. Hula-Hooping

I've always had a hula-hoop around, sans my two years in the dorms. I was always really good at it as a child and I always kept one in the house for when I was bored. It was just a simple little exercise that was quite monotonous but allowed me to do other things on my phone or just watch TV without any crazy interruptions. Now I have one in my apartment and I just pick it up whenever I feel like it: when I'm waiting for something to cook, when I'm watching Netflix, when I just want to do something while I'm scrolling through social media. It's also, oddly enough, a good stress reliever. Because even if it is a simple monotonous movement, I still have to focus on the movement of my hips or else it will fall and I'll be sad that I messed up. Just kidding. It's just a fun activity that reminds me of my childhood and is just silly enough to cheer me up.

2. Dance party for one

Dance parties are, hands down, one of my favorite things to do in general. The amount I dance (horribly, I should add) around my apartment is ridiculous. The amount I dance in general is a bit shameful, truthfully, but it always puts a smile on my face so who really cares? I will dance to anything (remember that time I still managed to get down at an Arctic Monkeys concert?), anywhere, anytime. My dance playlists are forever changing, but I have two main ones that I use. One is clean and one is not so clean. Also, if Taylor Swift was on Spotify, "Shake it Off" would be on every single one of my playlists ten times, at least.

3. Chat with friends

Sometimes when I'm having a bad day, I just want to check in and see how my friends are doing. I mean, I want to do this all of the time anyways because I need to make sure they're hydrated and are getting enough sleep, but I digress...It's just nice to have a normal conversation with someone to sort of pull you back to reality!

4. Watch Legally Blonde

This might just be a little specific to me, but literally, watching this movie is an instant mood booster. Honestly, ten minutes in and I'm feeling better. I mean, I wrote an ode to Elle Woods that one time, this movie clearly means  a lot to me. So maybe it's not Legally Blonde for you, but really, any movie or TV show or musical that is your favorite could be the perfect way to take your mind someplace else.

5. Paint your nails

There's nothing like a fresh manicure to cheer you up. Maybe you go to a salon and get a mani/pedi combination. I do it myself and just sitting there concentrating on making my nails acceptable looking again is my favorite thing to do. I just love a fresh manicure. It just looks so polished and pretty and I tend to be in a better mood when my nails have a fresh coat of color on them.

But above all, remember: there's nothing wrong with not being in a good mood. Nobody is meant to be happy all of the time. It'd be a bit concerning, honestly. We're human. Sometimes we're happy, sometimes we're sad, sometimes we're mad, and everything in between.